The Cowboy & the Wallflower
by Claire Violet Thorpe
Summary: Jasper is a cowboy devoted to his family, yet his family wants him to marry and settle down. Bella is a wallflower with almost no chance at romance. They meet at a county fair and sparks fly! FAGE 6 gift for Aunt Bell / Bell 1


FAGE Six Pack

Title: The Cowboy & the Wallflower

Written for: Aunt Bell / Bell 1

Written By: Claire Violet Thorpe / Jacquel Chrissy May

Rating: T

Summary/Prompt used: Hard working, family-oriented ranch owner (cowboy) crosses paths at a county celebration (like a county fair, or another type of community/event where people from all walks of life gather for fun and entertainment) with a beautiful, quiet, lonely, (wallflower, or fly-on-the-wall type) person, who feels lost, but is secretly hoping for someone to rescue them from the life they have.

* * *

The community of Landrum, Texas was a small, tight-knit community. In this town, everyone knew each other and despite the influx of computers, cell phones, and social networking, people still took time out to actually talk to each other.

in this tiny community that consisted mainly of ranches and farms, jasper Whitlock was fighting with his family once again. Jedidiah Whitlock had wanted his youngest son to settle down and get married for a while. jasper did enjoy his family and loved his nephews and nieces, but he himself did not feel ready to marry and settle down. he seemed to enjoy riding horses and participating in rodeos more.

"I already told you, Pa, I ain't interested in no women," Jasper snapped as the family sat down to breakfast one day.

"Jasper," said Jedidiah, "your ma and I really want you to settle down. It's not like we don't appreciate your help around the ranch, but we feel that you're more suited to be having a woman around."

Rose, Jasper's mother, added, "I really want my youngest boy to be happy, but I can't see him staying single for the rest of his life. When are you going to find yourself a woman, son?"

"It's not like a woman can just fall right out of the sky," Jasper said. He then got up and went to groom the horses as his family watched in bewilderment.

"He just don't get it," said David, Jasper's older brother. "The rest of us settled down and we're doing OK. what's he got against women, anyway?"

"It's embarrassing," said Benjamin, Jasper's second older brother. "How can a man like him be content to remain single for the rest of his life? What is the town going to be saying when they find out that he's not married yet?"

"OK, OK, let's not patronize him," said William, Jasper's oldest brother. "I'm sure that Jasper will find a woman very soon."

* * *

In the city of Longoria, Texas (which was several miles from Landrum), Bella Swan was a chemistry student at Longoria University. She came from a mostly broken family and very rarely visited her father, Charlie. Her mother, Renée, already knew the names of previous men that Bella had kicked to the curb for various reasons.

"Bella, you need to take a look at your priorities," said her best friend Jessica Stanley. "You have such impossibly high standards when it comes to men."

"I know," said Bella, "but you and I both know how hard it is to find a good man. It seems like all the good ones are either too nice, too wimpy, or already taken. I need a real man."

"Just because your parents divorced when you were a kid doesn't mean that you yourself can't find true love," said Angela Weber, Bella's other best friend. "You may not know it now, but the man you're looking for could be just around the corner."

Bella nodded, but she realized that for most of her life, she had been known as a wallflower. She refused to attend her senior prom because she was too shy, and she had a huge shortage of friends. No one really paid her much attention, and it was rare for Bella to speak to anyone outside of the classroom or the lab.

Angela said, "Don't worry, Bella. Like I said, the guy you are looking for is just around the corner." Bella wanted to believe her, but it wasn't easy to believe in finding true love when love had eluded you your whole life. Bella had seen her mother date an assortment of men, but never having any sort of serious relationship. her father, Charlie, had enjoyed many years of being a bachelor. Bella didn't seem to know the first thing about being in a relationship.

On the other hand, Jasper spent most of his time around his horses and his many nephews and nieces, but not deciding to marry and have children. Although his parents and brothers tried to push him into marrying a daughter of some rancher or farmer or even a local girl living in town, their efforts failed.

It wasn't that Jasper was shy around women, but he was looking for the right kind of woman; a woman who he could sweep off her feet. He had seen many girls at the rodeos and had many female admirers, but none of them felt worthy enough for him.

* * *

One day, during a trip to town, Jasper chanced to pick up an advertisement for the county fair that was taking place the following week. Most of the people would be coming from the surrounding cities to attend the county fair. Could this be the moment that he was waiting for, a moment to meet that woman he had secretly been searching for?

At the same time, Bella, Jessica, and Angela saw an ad for the county fair that was taking place in Landrum, Texas. Jessica said, "Well, isn't this nice? We can go to the fair! Wouldn't that be great? We can see all sorts of things there."

"I don't know," said Bella nervously. "I don't seem to like going to the fair. Remember last year when I threw up after riding that roller coaster?"

"You're always queasy," said Jessica. "How's about this year, we go to the fair and find your dream date."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," said Bella, but Jessica ignored her. Jessica was determined to force Bella to go to the country fair and meet the potential man in her life, and she wasn't about to take _no_ for an answer.

* * *

When it came time to get ready for the county fair, Jasper was the first one up. He rushed to the stables and began to groom the horses before they would be loaded up and taken to the fair.

He said to them, "Could today be the day I get lucky? Could I find the girl I've been searching for? I've haven't exactly been "_lucky in love_", so to speak." The horses didn't respond to his talking, but they shook their heads and stamped their feet in reply.

"Jasper, you out there?" William cried out. He came to the stables and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get them loaded up and ready to go. Everyone's waiting for you!" Jasper frowned, he had been in the stables longer than intended and he had missed breakfast. With a sigh, he and William with to join David and Benjamin in corralling the horses and putting them in the huge trailer.

At the same time, Bella found herself standing at the bus stop, waiting for the shuttle that would take her to the country fair. Angela and Jessica were talking to several people, so she was standing by herself. No one was going to speak to her and she lacked the nerve to speak to anyone else, so she stayed quiet.

By the time the shuttle reached the county fairgrounds, Jessica and Angela dragged Bella off the bus and they wandered around for a bit. Bella stared at the roller coaster that she had ridden the year before (and got sick), but thought better of it. She did NOT want a repeat of last year.

Jasper and his family had unloaded the horses in the stadium section and already scores of people had showed up, all eager to see the horses. Horses were neighing, cows were mooing, pigs, goats, sheep, and chickens were just everywhere. Jasper had always enjoyed coming to the fair since he was a small child; he liked staring at the animals more than the rides and games that his brothers preferred. He did nothing but stand there, taking in the scenery, watching as his nephews and nieces frolicked among the baby animals, and eventually joining them. All the while, though, he was waiting for that one girl to sweep off her feet.

Speaking of which, Bella had gotten separated from her group and was now walking towards the animals. She had never seen any farm animals up close; the closest that she had gotten to any animal was her rare trips to the zoo as a child. but the sight of so many animals in one place seemed to overwhelm her, and she found herself swooning. Bella forced herself to sit on a huge bale of hay and wait until the feeling of vertigo went away.

Jasper had looked up several times from his spot to check on the horses (which were in the corral), but the last time he did, he saw a young woman collapsing onto a huge bale of hay. he had seen women faint before, but it was nothing like the woman who was sitting on the hay. Making his excuses to his family, he left the corral and went to find the woman.

Bella looked up and saw a man coming towards her; she had imagined many times that a man would come to her and sweep her off her feet. but the dreams were little more than just dreams; what man would look upon a plain girl like her? But the man did show up, and Bella gasped at what she saw: a handsome rugged cowboy with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. While Jessica and Angela thought of the more intellectual types, Bella had thought about cowboys. Was she truly the romantic she always imagined herself to be?

Jasper saw the woman staring at him; she was pale with brown eyes and long brown hair. He thought that some time outdoors should do her some good. Could she really be the one, he thought to himself.

He said, "You all right, little lass?"

"I think so," said Bella. "I just got a bit dizzy, that's all." She felt flushed and excited at the same time.

"I think you might need a rest," said Jasper as he scooped her up and carried her off to the shade, where a bench was. Bella gasped; this was her ultimate fantasy, to be swept off her feet by a cowboy. She didn't want to say anything that could possibly spoil the moment. Jasper reached the bench and they both sat down, drinking in the sunlight that fluttered between the slits in the tarp that served as the shade.

After a while, Bella said, "Well, this was my ultimate fantasy."

"What? Fainting at the sight of animals?" said Jasper.

"No," Bella laughed at him. "Being swept off my feet by a cowboy." Jasper stared at her, but she continued speaking, "For years, I always thought about cowboys and what would happen if I happened to be carried off by one. Guess I didn't foresee it happening in real life."

"Well, it has certainly happened," Jasper said as he stared at Bella. Both of them knew that in that very moment, they had found who they had been searching for.

The end!


End file.
